While the State continues to focus on the need for more funds from the Centre for cleaning and rejuvenating the Ganga river, environmental activists lament that this task appears to have fallen prey to politics and the trend of seeking Central funds for tasks which continue to get delayed due to lack of intent in the State from where the Ganga originates.
The Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO) founder Anil Joshi feels that the cleaning and conservation of Ganga and other rivers requires intent and determination more than money.
“What have we achieved by Statehood if we continue to repeatedly approach the Centre for fundsIJ The States have developed a pattern wherein they solely depend on funds from the Central Government in a way that kills public intent. This pattern and the failure to link the people with such efforts is one of the reasons why we don’t seem to have shramdan (voluntary labour) by the public now. Simply seeking funds from the Centre will not achieve the desired aim if the intent and determination to work as required is missing,” he stressed.
Suresh Bhai of Nadi Bachao Abhiyan said that the Government seems to be eager to involve the corporate and industrial sectors in efforts aimed at cleaning the Ganga without taking cognisance of the pollution being caused by these sectors.
“The changes achieved by efforts of the corporate sector are temporary because the desired long term changes can only be achieved by linking the people with the efforts. Those living along the Ganga and its tributaries should be directly involved along with activists in these efforts. Unfortunately, when the Congress is in power it calls its party members for discussions and when the BJP is in power it involves its own party people in the efforts while the real stakeholders and those working on this are ignored,” he said.
It should be mentioned here that Chief Minister Harish Rawat has sought `9,222 crore from the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) to rejuvenate the Ganga river in Uttarakhand. According to the State Government, there are 132 townships along the Ganga and its tributaries in Uttarakhand which require domestic sewerage system costing `7634 crore.
A total of 730 locations on the Yatra route and Mela areas where large seasonal congregations take place have been marked for community toilet construction costing `219 crore while 159 locations have been identified where traditional cremations take place along the river stretch, where improved wood based or electric crematoriums costing `52.47 crore can be established to reduce waste disposal in Ganga.
Additionally, 233 locations were identified where Solid Waste Management and decentralised landfills costing `829.66 crore are required; 1223 locations were identified in Char Dham areas, Mela areas, Yatra route and tourist spots for bio-digester toilets costing `122.30 crore.
A sum of `6.73 crore would be needed for training and capacity building in urban local bodies, `300 crore for initial work on river front development in Greater Rishikesh and Haridwar, `25 crore for common effluent treatment plant in the industrial areas of Haridwar and Kashipur, `10 crore for increase manpower and upgrading laboratories of the Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (UEPPCB), `3.92 crore to study and preserve the aquatic life of upper Ganga, an initial investment of `4.60 crore for putting in place a mechanism for managing the waste generated from religious activities and `15.29 crore to study and mitigate the adverse effects of the activities of those whose livelihood is connected to the Ganga- all totaling to `9,222 crore.
The Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee has recently demanded that the Centre should release the sought funds without delay to facilitate work on cleaning and rejuvenating the Ganga.